Presidents and presidential candidates, especially those in hot water, have not infrequently taken her advice: Given their master’s occupation, canine companions have frequently been pressed into service for political ends.

Bo, the Obamas’ Portuguese water dog, shows up frequently in pictures of Barack and Michelle Obama, as a deliberate counterweight to Mitt Romney’s car-top treatment of pet Seamus years ago.

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In a famous speech, Franklin D. Roosevelt mocked Republicans for attacks on his dog Fala.

In a famous speech, Franklin D. Roosevelt mocked Republicans for attacks on his dog Fala.

The Bushes and dog Millie greet Bill and Hillary Clinton on January 20, 1993.

The Bushes and dog Millie greet Bill and Hillary Clinton on January 20, 1993.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

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The "Silver Fox", Barbara Bush, published a kids' book supposedly by spaniel Millie.

The "Silver Fox", Barbara Bush, published a kids' book supposedly by spaniel Millie.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

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Labrador "Buddy" was Bill Clinton's companion in closing days of presidency.

Labrador "Buddy" was Bill Clinton's companion in closing days of presidency.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

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The Clinton dog Buddy did not get along with family cat socks. Socks was sent into exile when Clintons left White House.

The Clinton dog Buddy did not get along with family cat socks. Socks was sent into exile when Clintons left White House.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

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Many jokes were told White House Press Room when Bill Clinton took Buddy to be neutered.

Many jokes were told White House Press Room when Bill Clinton took Buddy to be neutered.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

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President George W. Bush carried Barney off Air Force One in 2007 as U.S. economy began to go to the dogs.

President George W. Bush carried Barney off Air Force One in 2007 as U.S. economy began to go to the dogs.

Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP/Getty Images

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As relations with Fourth Estate soured, the President's dog Barney bit a reporter on the finger.

As relations with Fourth Estate soured, the President's dog Barney bit a reporter on the finger.

Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP/Getty Images

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"If you want a friend in Washington, D.C., get a dog." The Obamas acquired Bo, a Portuguese water dog, after moving into the White House at recommendation of Sen. Edward Kennedy.

"If you want a friend in Washington, D.C., get a dog." The Obamas acquired Bo, a Portuguese water dog, after moving into the White House at recommendation of Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Photo: Pool / Getty Images

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Michelle Obama walks Bo on the South Lawn of the White House. Dog is part of First Lady's exercise routines.

Michelle Obama walks Bo on the South Lawn of the White House. Dog is part of First Lady's exercise routines.

Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP/Getty Images

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Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is bolstered by supporters in New Hampshire after Seamus controversy.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is bolstered by supporters in New Hampshire after Seamus controversy.

Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images

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Presidential dogs: 'Man's Best Friend' as political helpmate

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In an emotional “60 Minutes” interview, defending his decision to launch the Iraq War, President George W. Bush declared: “I will not withdraw even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me.”

Barney was W’s Scottish Terrier, and a loyalist defender of the President against a Fourth Estate of whose hostility Bush was convinced. In 2008, Barney bit a Reuters reporter on the finger.

Presidents return the favor, showering attention on Man’s Best Friend. In a full year, according to White House logs, the reclusive Richard Nixon spent more time with a vet treating his Irish setter King Timahoe than with Defense Secretary Melvin Laird, charged with prosecuting the Vietnam War.

“Secret Nixon Fund,” blared a New York Post headline, exposing an $18,000 fund set up by Nixon’s rich supporters to underwrite his lifestyle. Nixon went on national TV with an emotional defense. He talked of telling an interviewer that his girls had no dog, inspiring a man in Texas to send the Nixons the dog they named Checkers.

“Regardless of what they say about it, we’re going to keep it,” said Nixon, in the most famous line of the mawkish address that became known as the “Checkers Speech.”

–Buddy: Bill Clinton acquired a Labrador named Buddy in days after the Monica Lewinsky scandal, at a time when the Missus was decamping to begin her U.S. Senate campaign in New York.

The White House press room erupted in mirth when it was announced that the 42nd President had taken Buddy to be neutered. Would Clinton undergo a similar procedure, the Fourth Estate wanted to know.

The Clinton’s cat “Socks” — who didn’t get along with Buddy — was exiled when they left the White House for new digs in New York. Alas, Buddy was run down and killed by the truck of a man doing for on their new home.

–Liberty: A golden retriever was President Gerald Ford’s much-photographed companion in the Oval Office. The Fords sent out pictures of Liberty “autographed” with the rubber stamp of a paw print.

A stuffed dog became part of Chevy Chase’s send-ups on a stumbling Ford in early episodes of Saturday Night Live. The President would command “Roll Over Liberty!” and legs would go out from under the fake pet.

–Rex: A King Charles spaniel lived in the Reagan White House, nicknamed by son Ron Reagan “the wonder dog.” But Rex undid one of the carefully choreographed “photo ops” that were a mark of the Gipper’s presidency.

The dog stopped en route to the Marine One helicopter, and relieved itself on the White House lawn as Nancy Reagan looked on in mock horror. Luckily, he made less of a mess than aide who felt the First Lady’s firing power.

–Seamus: The now-famous Irish setter was attached in a carrier to the roof of the Romneys’ station wagon for the 650-mile journey from Boston to the family’s summer home in Ontario.

Seamus came down with Joseph Smith’s Revenge and began to relieve itself down the car’s rear window. Showing steely nerve, the future GOP nominee pulled over into a service station, hosed down Seamus, and continued the family journey. The dog was not invited into the back seat.

–Freckles: Sen. Robert Kennedy ran along an Oregon beach during the 1968 Democratic presidential primary, accompanied by his spaniel Freckles. Freckles was much in evidence in the Beaver State.

Rival Sen. Eugene McCarthy made loving use of RFK’s dog, in that Kennedy was refusing to debate. He offered a face-off between Freckles and the McCarthys’ dog Mike (“Mike would have killed him”) and told a rally: “I believe I can take on both the Senator from New York and his dog.”

Kennedy lost the primary, the first defeat for his family in 27 elections.

–Fala: The Scottish Terrier became part of a 1944 speech in which a sickly Franklin D. Roosevelt showed that the old master could still find new tricks. Fala had joined his boss on a trip to the Pacific, lampooned for its cost by the Republicans.

While he and his family were used to attacks for extravagance, FDR told a Teamsters Union dinner, Fala was not: “His Scotch soul was furious. He has not been the same dog since.”

He could take the heat, Roosevelt added, “But I think I have a right to object to libelous statements about my dog.” The country roared with laughter. It was exactly the right touch to deploy against dour Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey.

–Little Beagle Johnson: All members of Lyndon Johnson’s family had to be branded with the “LBJ” initials, even the family’s pet beagles. Johnson loved to walk the dogs around the White House, trailed by a throng of winded reporters.

On one occasion, however, he lifted a yelping beagle by its two years. The resulting photo got Johnson in trouble with the ASPCA.

–Millie: During the first Bush administration, “The Silver Fox” — first lady Barbara Bush — used the family’s spaniel Millie to burnish a sweet-grandmother image after the nation tired of the regal Nancy Reagan.

A very-pregnant Millie sprawled on the feet of a Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter doing an interview with the First Lady. Millie later gave birth to a litter of six puppies, and Barbara Bush published a children’s book under her dog’s byline.

Millie was part of the party that greeted Bill and Hillary Clinton at the door of the White House on January 20, 1993.